Children’s notebook: Dress to impress

Pretty dresses for little girls, first bras and a packed lunch kit that is
waste free.

Dress to impress When the womenswear designer Rosa Wiland started designing children’s clothes in 2008 she left her grown-up fashion ideas at the studio door. Her label, Little Duckling (little-duckling.co.uk), launched in this country by our Shop Awards winner Kidsen (kidsen.co.uk), uses natural fabrics and simple shapes that children like to wear. Add to this an original colour palette, inspired by the designer’s native Norway, and you have something irresistible. The check dress (£34.75, ages 2-5) reminds me of everything good about summer uniform. Highlights from the collection are also available at John Lewis.

Work it out As the new school term ploughs on, so millions of mothers trudge home to clear up breakfast and put a wash on, feeling ever more isolated from the grown-up world of work. Recognising that many stay-at-home mothers find it impossible to make their way back into the workplace, Louise Webster (a PR professional and mother of two) has launched beyondtheschoolrun.com, a website designed to motivate parents and to engage them in school-hours-based opportunities. Still in its early stages, the site currently links up users with charities, but Webster has plans to turn this into a portal for family-friendly employment. Register and see where it might take you, before you get back to clearing up the Weetabix.

Break the rules Hard to fit in a pencil case, easily confiscated, and sending out all the wrong messages, this gun-shaped ruler will none the less ensure that bad boys and girls willingly underline their titles (£4.99, oakroomshop.co.uk).

Top crop Set up three years ago by the sisters-in-law Maria and Sophia Law, who have six daughters between them, Sweetling designs first bras and matching knickers that are free from padding and underwires, such as this simple crop top with a pretty heart-shaped cutout on the back (£18.95 for a pack of two, available in sizes 26a-36a). Readers who order will receive a 20 per cent discount card towards a future purchase. Just quote 'Telegraph’ when ordering (sweetling.co.uk).

Out to lunch Summer term is when parents who have insisted on school lunches because they are hot and therefore A Good Thing over winter will find their arguments flawed. If, like me, one of your objections to packed lunches is the packaging waste they generate, you may like the Waste Free Lunch Kit by Kids Konserve (£35, greentulip.co.uk). Contained within the recycled cotton bag is a cotton napkin, stainless-steel drinks bottle, two stainless-steel lidded pots, and (my favourite) a reusable polythene food wrapper. All you need now is a compost heap for everything that returns home bruised but uneaten.